


Why Not Ask the Children?

by Cantatrice18



Category: The Sound of Music - Rodgers/Hammerstein/Lindsay & Crouse
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 10:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain von Trapp has proposed to Maria, but before he weds he must get the permission of his children. He decides to go about it a bit differently than he first intended, in order to ascertain how the children really feel about having a "New Mother".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Not Ask the Children?

Captain von Trapp cleared his throat and looked sternly at the children arranged in a neat line before him. Their eyes were staring directly ahead, their backs ramrod straight, and he felt a slight pang as he realized how forcibly he had shaped them all into little soldiers. Even tiny Gretl stood at attention, her face growing pink as she held her breath in an attempt to stand straighter. With war looming over all of them it felt like a travesty to force military strictness into the house before it was absolutely necessary. They were children, and deserved a chance to enjoy their youth before it was snatched away from them all too quickly, both by time and by experience. It had taken Maria to get him to see that, taken her sweetness and her guiding touch to help the children out of the little prisons he’d constructed for them. He glanced over at Maria where she stood at the end of the line and their eyes met for only a second. How he’d ever lived without her he didn’t know. Turning his attention back to the children he began to pace, slowly and deliberately, down the line. He had an idea in his head, a trick of sorts, one that might get the children out of their shells permanently and show them that the old stern routine was a thing of the past. As he passed Liesl he spun so that he could look down the line of children and see each face clearly. “Children, there are several things that must be made clear before the wedding can be planned in earnest.” 

He saw all the children stiffen slightly at the word “wedding” and he quickly covered his smile with a cough. “I know it will be difficult for you to accustom yourselves to the idea of having a new Mother. You may find it especially hard to transition away from having a governess. But after all, with a new Mother in the house there will be no more need for you to have any other…supervision.” 

The youngest two girls looked up at Maria miserably, and she motioned them to pay attention to their father. Reluctantly, they obeyed, though the Captain thought he saw a mulish set to Gretl’s jaw – that girl would be quite a handful when she grew up. He pretended he hadn’t noticed their lapse in military posture and continued. “And since your new Mother will be a woman both firm and kind, a woman in whom you can confide and trust, can look up to, I have no doubt you will mind what she says and behave exactly as both she and I will expect of you.”

By now the children looked almost mutinous. Still, they managed to keep their composure, and he began to pace down the line again. “Now, I have no doubt that your new Mother will want to spend a great deal of time with you. She is quite taken with you, and finds you charming company. No doubt the constant exposure to a woman as unique as she will be a learning experience for you all.”

In the silence that followed this pronouncement he heard a small sob, and to the Captain’s surprise it came, not from the littlest girls, but from Brigitte. Always so quiet and collected, she still stood at attention, trying to ignore the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Her sob seemed to have been a cue, however, and Marta let out a soft wail while Gretl buried her head in Maria’s skirt, holding on tightly to the young woman as though through sheer force she could make her world stay the same. The look Maria shot the Captain was plain enough, and he turned to the children, eyebrows raised. “Well, children? What do you think? Does this plan not make you happy?”

The renewed sobs of the little ones answered him well enough, but he looked to the older ones for answer. Friedrich’s eyes were burning as he stood at attention, and Kurt looked as though he were bursting to speak. The Captain turned to his eldest son and met his eyes. “Friedrich, I asked a question: does this make you happy?” 

The boy gritted his teeth and gazed defiantly at the Captain. “No, Father.”

The Captain raised his eyebrows in mock incredulity. “No? And how about you, Liesl?” he asked, turning to his eldest daughter. She shook her head. “No, father.” 

Turning to Louisa, his third child, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could ask anything at all Kurt burst out “You can’t marry the Baroness, you can’t!” 

Immediately the boy realized what he’d done and he snapped back to attention, looking terrified. The Captain gazed at him calmly. “Why can’t I?” 

Kurt seemed too scared to speak, as did the others, but a muffled voice came from the end of the line. Gretl, still holding tightly to Maria’s skirts, had turned back to look at her father. “You can’t marry her, you have to marry Fraulein Maria!”

There was absolute silence as all the other children froze. All but Marta, who was nodding in agreement. The Captain asked softly, “Marta, do you also think I should marry Fraulein Maria?”

The girl looked at Maria, then nodded again. “Yes, Father.”

“Why?” he asked, keeping his voice light.

“Because…” she faltered, her voice trailing off. 

Louisa who stepped forward. “Because she loves you. And you love her, or you ought to.”

Friedrich stepped forward as well. “She’s kind, not just to us but to everyone.”

“She cares about people,” Liesl added, “and she listens to their problems, she tries to help.”

“She makes learning fun,” chimed in Kurt. “She makes everything fun, even little things.”

“Life is not the same without her.” Brigitte’s soft voice came last, but everyone stopped to listen. “The house is a better place when Maria is here. She brings all the happiness back to it. Without her it would just be—“

“Empty,” Liesl finished.

“Dead”, Kurt added. 

The Captain looked at Maria, a knowing half-smile on his lips. “Well, Fraulein Maria? Does that seem enough like permission to you?”

She nodded and he took her hand, drawing her away from Gretl’s encircling grasp. Before the eyes of the astonished children he pulled her into a tender kiss. She leaned against him, her arms encircling his neck, and he looked over her shoulder at the row of staring children. Catching Liesl’s eye, he raised a brow at her, and she quickly began ushering the others out of the room. As the door closed behind them he could hear Gretl exclaim, “It’ll be my first wedding!” 

The Captain chuckled softly and the sound roused Maria from where she’d been resting against his chest. “Are they gone?”

He nodded, unable to take his eyes off the woman he held in his arms. She smiled. "Good", she murmured, and leaned in to kiss him once more.


End file.
